Anchor Up: Eight Commodores to Watch

See also: "Anchor Up: Candice Storey Lee Leads Vanderbilt Athletics to Victory."

As Vanderbilt University’s meteoric rise in athletics continues, several of the school’s programs are producing stars. Sure, everyone has heard about now-graduated lighting-rod quarterback Diego Pavia, the 2025 Heisman runner-up who attracted attention both on and off the field as he led the Vandy football program to some of its greatest seasons. But these eight Commodores deserve just as much time in the spotlight. 

Mikayla Blakes, Women’s Basketball

If you’re going to check out just one person on this list, make it Mikayla Blakes. The sophomore burst onto the scene with an All-American season during women’s basketball’s 2024-25 campaign. She won National Freshman of the Year honors and rewrote the Vanderbilt record books, and she’s only gotten better in year two. Blakes is at the front of the pack in the National Player of the Year race this season as the No. 5-ranked Commodores have jumped out to a historic start. The high-scoring phenom may end up being one of the standout stars of this year’s March Madness as Vanderbilt searches for its first Final Four appearance since 1993 and its second ever. Prepare your brackets accordingly. 

Tyler Tanner, Men’s Basketball

Like Blakes, Tyler Tanner made an immediate impact on the court in his first season for the Commodores. As a freshman, the Brentwood Academy alum provided energy off the bench last season, starting fastbreaks with active hands on defense and finding open teammates with smart passes on offense. But even the most ardent local basketball-heads didn’t foresee the leap the Middle Tennessee native would make this year. As Vanderbilt is in the midst of its best season in more than a decade, Tanner has become one of the best point guards in the country, making his way onto multiple national award watch lists and drumming up interest as a potential first-round pick in this year’s NBA draft.  

Sydney Watts, Women’s Soccer

It’s been a banner few years for the Vanderbilt women’s soccer program. The Commodores have made three of the past four NCAA tournaments, reaching the Sweet 16 in each of the past two. (And they knocked off the top-ranked, defending national champions Florida State along the way.) All-American forward Sydney Watts’ steady presence up front has been a big reason for Vandy’s success. The rising senior led the SEC with 16 goals in 2025, earning a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist list, college soccer’s equivalent of the Heisman. Watts and fellow All-American teammate Mary Beth McLaughlin, a standout defender, should have the ’Dores right back in postseason contention this fall. 

Wells Williams, Men’s Golf

Heading into his final season on the links at Vanderbilt, standout golfer Wells Williams is making a name for himself nationally. After earning honorable mention All-American honors as a junior, the 2024-25 SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year was named to the 2026 Ben Hogan Award watch list for the nation’s best golfer. 

Katelyn Abigania, Women’s Bowling 

With the possible exception of one team we’ll get to below, bowling is Vanderbilt’s most dominant program. The Commodore bowlers have won three national championships this century (2007, 2018, 2023) — as many championships as the rest of the athletic department combined — and the team often has some of the best young bowlers in the country. The latest star on the lanes is Katelyn Abigania. Despite just beginning her college career in the fall, the 2025 U.S. Amateur champion has already become one of the top bowlers in the NCAA and has earned a spot on Team USA’s bowling squad. 

Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster, Women’s Tennis 

Possibly the highlight of Vanderbilt’s fall sports slate was Célia-Belle Mohr and Sophia Webster’s run to the NCAA Doubles Championship final. The elite doubles pair won four matches in four days in November to make the championship match, where they ultimately lost to a duo from N.C. State. But Mohr and Webster — a grad student and sophomore, respectively — accomplished a number of program firsts and earned All-American status for the second year in a row along the way. 

Connor Fennell, Baseball

The Vandy Boys were making headlines nationally long before the rest of the school’s athletics resurgence. Arguably the best program in college baseball over the past 15 years, Vanderbilt is far from under-discussed on the diamond. But after a few — relatively speaking, of course — down years for the program, All-American pitcher Connor Fennell could be the key to getting the ’Dores back on top of the baseball world. The righty won all six of his starts last season, and Vanderbilt hopes his dominance can translate to a heavier workload this season. If it does, the Vandy Boys might find themselves back in Omaha this summer for their first College World Series since 2021.

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Anchor Up: Candice Storey Lee Leads Vanderbilt Athletics to Victory

The school’s athletic director — the first Black woman to hold the position in the SEC — is helping her teams dominate